Green Bay Packers RB Coach Alex Van Pelt praised RB Eddie Lacy (hamstring), saying he shows great patience and reads the game well. "He's a patient runner," Van Pelt said of Lacy. "But once that decision has been made, it's north and south. That's the strong point of him. You rarely see him make a bad read in the running game. It's just a natural thing as a runner.
"He's always on track, he's always making the right reads and anticipates where the hole is going to be."
There is a chance Lacy could be held out of the team's second preseason game as he continues to work his way back from a hamstring issue.

Fantasy Tip: Lacy should get most of the work out of the Packers backfield, and it appears he is close to putting his injury issues behind him.

Rick Stroud, of the St. Petersburg Times, reports Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt said he is looking for QB Josh Freeman to improve on his accuracy and leadership skills for next season. The Buccaneers' goal for Freeman is to complete 65 percent of his passes in 2010. Van Pelt feels Freeman needs to display more leadership. "He needs to be the first guy in the building. It's the leadership aspect we need from him," Van Pelt said. "He needs to be more vocal with teammates in and out of the huddle."

Ira Kaufman, of The Tampa Tribune, reports Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Greg Olson said he believes quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt will help QB Josh Freeman more than he could because he has to concentrate on a number of things. "Alex gives me another set of eyes -- and that's big with a young group. At this time in his career, Josh has to have someone coaching him on every single snap. As a coordinator, I wasn't always able to do that. Alex played a long time in this league as a backup quarterback," Olsen said.

Rick Stroud, of the St. Petersburg Times, reports the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have hired former Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt to be their quarterbacks coach. The team is expected to announce the hiring later this week once the contract is finalized.

Chris Brown, of BuffaloBills.com, reports Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson met with head coach Dick Jauron and assistant coaches Alex Van Pelt and Eric Studesville, as well as general manager Russ Brandon. Jauron made it sound like the meeting was had so Wilson could get a better feel for the new direction of the offense. Jauron also confirmed Van Pelt is the team's new offensive coordinator. Jauron felt like Wilson was comfortable with the changes the team made after the group met.

Chris Brown, of Bills Digest, reports Buffalo Bills radio announcer Alex Van Pelt spent this spring in Frankfurt, Germany as quarterbacks coach of the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe. "I handled my quarterbacks, did all of the breakdowns, all the installation of what was going in that week with the skill players," said Van Pelt. "I did all the film review with the skill players, and I got to call the plays. It was awesome." Van Pelt, a former quarterback, says he one day hopes to coach in the NFL.

The Buffalo News reports the Buffalo Bills will go with just two quarterbacks in the regular season opener against the New England Patriots on Sunday, Sept. 7. With third-string QB Travis Brown (finger) out with a dislocated finger and rookie Jason Johnson being cut, the Bills are left with Drew Bledsoe and Alex Van Pelt on the 53-man roster. Johnson was signed to the practice squad Monday just in case. The Bills have not totally ruled out signing another quarterback, but haven't made contact with any thus far.

The Buffalo News reports Buffalo Bills QB Travis Brown will get every opportunity to supplant longtime veteran QB Alex Van Pelt as Drew Bledsoe's understudy. There appears to be pressure on Van Pelt, whose $650,000 salary could become an issue if he is the third-stringer. The Bills would like Brown to win the job. If he doesn't, the Bills might consider grooming another young quarterback next season.

BuffaloBills.com reports the team's QB rotation for this week's pre-season game will be: QB Drew Bledsoe will play the first quarter, Alex Van Pelt will play the second quarter and Travis Brown will play the third quarter and most of the fourth before giving way to David Priestley for the final two drives or so.

The Associated Press reports Buffalo Bills GM Tom Donahoe reiterated his position that QB Rob Johnson must be willing to re-negotiate his deal if he wants a chance of staying in Buffalo. The comment came after Johson was bypassed in Monday's expansion draft. Asked the chances of Johnson taking a pay cut, Donahoe replied: "I don't know. You'd have to ask Rob that question. I'm not good at mind-reading." If he returns to the team, he would likely have to battle backup QB Alex Van Pelt to regain his starter's job. Barring a breakthrough in talks, the Bills will have no choice but to cut Johnson before the final year of his contract begins next month.

According to ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli, Buffalo Bills QB Alex Van Pelt's new deal with the team breaks down as follows: It's a five-year, $5.4 million deal that includes a $1 million signing bonus. He'll have base salaries of $650,000 (2002), $750,000 (2003), $1 million each for 2004-2006.

The Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports Buffalo Bills QB Alex Van Pelt is hopeful whoever comes in as the team's new offensive coordinator sticks with the West Coast passing scheme. Van Pelt feels the team has the necessary players in place to make the WCO work out for them. The Bills are focusing their search more on personnel than they are on schemes.

According to the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, the Buffalo Bills only sure thing at quarterback right now is Alex Van Pelt. The team may draft a quarterback in the upcoming draft and there's still a chance QB Rob Johnson could return if the Houston Texans do not select him and he's willing to take a major pay cut to remain with the team. The Bills may also turn to the free agent market and acquire another quarterback from that direction.

As an update to a story from Jan. 3, the Associated Press reports the Buffalo Bills have officially re-signed QB Alex Van Pelt to a five-year deal. It's believed to be worth $6 million and includes additional incentive clauses should Van Pelt become the team's permanent starter.

The Democrat and Chronicle reports even if QB Rob Johnson agrees to a revised cap-friendly contract and returns to the Buffalo Bills next season, owner Ralph Wilson wants him to compete for the starting job with Alex Van Pelt and Travis Brown. Wilson said Johnson has to prove he's the team's starter and the team hasn't been able to see enough of him yet because he's been injured so much.